Sovereign, Relational Crusaded
Right up to Their Uneasy Truce

Up until a few hours before their truce, Sovereign Bancorp Inc. Chief Executive Jay S. Sidhu and Relational Investors LLC co-head Ralph Whitworth still seemed to be in combative moods.

Mr. Sidhu, addressing students at the University of Pennsylvania late Wednesday, lashed out at shareholder activists, accusing them of being too focused on short-term profits. "Greed is driving them," he said. Mr. Sidhu said later he wasn't...